Udinese vs AC Milan suspended for 10 minutes as racist chants aimed at Mike Maignan | OneFootball

A Serie A game between Udinese and AC Milan was suspended for 10 minutes after racist chants were aimed at Mike Maignan. The Frenchman and his teammates left the pitch together after alerting referee Fabio Maresca of the abuse. The disgraceful incident unfolded in the 33rd minute of the meeting at Stadio Friuli.

Stefano Pioli's side entered the affair looking to mount more pressure on Inter Milan and Juventus, who current sit in first and second place, respectively, while three points under Udinese's belt would boost them in avoiding a relegation dogfight come the end of the campaign.

Prior to the halt in play, the Milan-based outfit were ahead in their domestic affair thanks to Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s 31st-minute effort. Upon the fixture's resumption, Udinese midfielder Lazar Samardzic levelled proceedings three minutes shy of the interval, while Florian Thuavin, who replaced Roberto Pereyra at half-time, put the home side ahead in the 62nd minute.

Milan managed to regain control of the encounter with a goal-line bundle. Lucas Hernandez pulled the ball back for Olivier Giroud, whose shot hit the underside of the bar. Luka Jović was on hand, however, to add the finishing touch. Yearning for the winner, Noah Okafar sealed it at the death as Giroud's header teed up the youngster for him to bulge the net with a half-volley past a hapless Maduka Okoye.

The game was halted in the 33rd minute

Maignan and teammates walked off the pitch

The worrying scenes arose in the 33rd minute of the affair as Maignan went over Mascera on two occasions within a span of five minutes, which led to play being halted. Udinese fans were initially warned to stop, though they failed to wilt under the advice of the officials and continued to hurl abuse at the Frenchman with 12 minutes of first half action left to run.

After the second interaction, the goalkeeper walked off the pitch alongside his teammates but remained in the technical area with Pioli. As reported by MailOnline, Maignan can be seen making his case to the referee, all while asking: “Did you hear that too?”. Many Udinese players were seen to hug and kiss the 13-cap France international after he made the conscious decision, asking Maresca to suspend the match with racism in Italian football is becoming too commonplace.

After receiving assurance from Maresca, the large-statured shot stopper returned between the posts, but even after an announcement from Udinese's stadium speakers, the racist chants continued and AC Milan, led by Maignan, left the field of play again. Upon returning to the pitch, the home fans happened to boo Maignan every time he touched the ball, highlighting their annoyance at the game being stopped, albeit temporarily.